Written by renowned data science experts Foster Provost and Tom Fawcett, Data Science for Business introduces the fundamental principles of data science, and walks you through the "data-analytic thinking" necessary for extracting useful knowledge and business value from the data you collect. This guide also helps you understand the many data-mining techniques in use today. Based on an MBA course Provost has taught at New York University over the past ten years, Data Science for Business provides examples of real-world business problems to illustrate these principles. You’ll not only learn how to improve communication between business stakeholders and data scientists, but also how participate intelligently in your company’s data science projects. You’ll also discover how to think data-analytically, and fully appreciate how data science methods can support business decision-making. Understand how data science fits in your organization—and how you can use it for competitive advantage Treat data as a business asset that requires careful investment if you’re to gain real value Approach business problems data-analytically, using the data-mining process to gather good data in the most appropriate way Learn general concepts for actually extracting knowledge from data Apply data science principles when interviewing data science job candidates

The advent of digital technologies has changed the news and publishing industries drastically. While shrinking newsrooms may be a concern for many, journalists and publishing professionals are working to reorient their skills and capabilities to employ technology for the purpose of better understanding and engaging with their audiences. Contemporary Research Methods and Data Analytics in the News Industry highlights the research behind the innovations and emerging practices being implemented within the journalism industry. This crucial, industry-shattering publication focuses on key topics in social media and video streaming as a new form of media communication as well the application of big data and data analytics for collecting information and drawing conclusions about the current and future state of print and digital news. Due to significant insight surrounding the latest applications and technologies affecting the news industry, this publication is a must-have resource for journalists, analysts, news media professionals, social media strategists, researchers, television news producers, and upper-level students in journalism and media studies. This timely industry resource includes key topics on the changing scope of the news and publishing industries including, but not limited to, big data, broadcast journalism, computational journalism, computer-mediated communication, data scraping, digital media, news media, social media, text mining, and user experience.

Technological advancements in computing have changed how data is leveraged by businesses to develop, grow, and innovate. In recent years, leading analytical companies have begun to realize the value in their vast holdings of customer data and have found ways to leverage this untapped potential. Now, more firms are following suit and looking to monetize Big Data for big profits. Such changes will have implications for both businesses and consumers in the coming years. In From Big Data to Big Profits, Russell Walker investigates the use of Big Data to stimulate innovations in operational effectiveness and business growth. Walker examines the nature of Big Data and how businesses can use it to create new monetization opportunities. Using case studies of Apple, Netflix, Google, LinkedIn, Zillow, Amazon, and other leaders in the use of Big Data, Walker explores how digital platforms such as mobile apps and social networks are changing the nature of customer interactions and the way Big Data is created and used by companies. Such changes, as Walker points out, will require careful consideration of legal and unspoken business practices as they affect consumer privacy. Companies looking to develop a Big Data strategy will find great value in the SIGMA framework, which he has developed to assess companies for Big Data readiness and provide direction on the steps necessary to get the most from Big Data. Rigorous and meticulous, From Big Data to Big Profits is a valuable resource for students, researchers, and professionals with an interest in Big Data, digital platforms, and analytics

Master predictive analytics, from start to finish Start with strategy and management Master methods and build models Transform your models into highly-effective code—in both Python and R This one-of-a-kind book will help you use predictive analytics, Python, and R to solve real business problems and drive real competitive advantage. You’ll master predictive analytics through realistic case studies, intuitive data visualizations, and up-to-date code for both Python and R—not complex math. Step by step, you’ll walk through defining problems, identifying data, crafting and optimizing models, writing effective Python and R code, interpreting results, and more. Each chapter focuses on one of today’s key applications for predictive analytics, delivering skills and knowledge to put models to work—and maximize their value. Thomas W. Miller, leader of Northwestern University’s pioneering program in predictive analytics, addresses everything you need to succeed: strategy and management, methods and models, and technology and code. If you’re new to predictive analytics, you’ll gain a strong foundation for achieving accurate, actionable results. If you’re already working in the field, you’ll master powerful new skills. If you’re familiar with either Python or R, you’ll discover how these languages complement each other, enabling you to do even more. All data sets, extensive Python and R code, and additional examples available for download at http://www.ftpress.com/miller/ Python and R offer immense power in predictive analytics, data science, and big data. This book will help you leverage that power to solve real business problems, and drive real competitive advantage. Thomas W. Miller’s unique balanced approach combines business context and quantitative tools, illuminating each technique with carefully explained code for the latest versions of Python and R. If you’re new to predictive analytics, Miller gives you a strong foundation for achieving accurate, actionable results. If you’re already a modeler, programmer, or manager, you’ll learn crucial skills you don’t already have. Using Python and R, Miller addresses multiple business challenges, including segmentation, brand positioning, product choice modeling, pricing research, finance, sports, text analytics, sentiment analysis, and social network analysis. He illuminates the use of cross-sectional data, time series, spatial, and spatio-temporal data. You’ll learn why each problem matters, what data are relevant, and how to explore the data you’ve identified. Miller guides you through conceptually modeling each data set with words and figures; and then modeling it again with realistic code that delivers actionable insights. You’ll walk through model construction, explanatory variable subset selection, and validation, mastering best practices for improving out-of-sample predictive performance. Miller employs data visualization and statistical graphics to help you explore data, present models, and evaluate performance. Appendices include five complete case studies, and a detailed primer on modern data science methods. Use Python and R to gain powerful, actionable, profitable insights about: Advertising and promotion Consumer preference and choice Market baskets and related purchases Economic forecasting Operations management Unstructured text and language Customer sentiment Brand and price Sports team performance And much more

Master modern web and network data modeling: both theory and applications. In Web and Network Data Science, a top faculty member of Northwestern University’s prestigious analytics program presents the first fully-integrated treatment of both the business and academic elements of web and network modeling for predictive analytics. Some books in this field focus either entirely on business issues (e.g., Google Analytics and SEO); others are strictly academic (covering topics such as sociology, complexity theory, ecology, applied physics, and economics). This text gives today's managers and students what they really need: integrated coverage of concepts, principles, and theory in the context of real-world applications. Building on his pioneering Web Analytics course at Northwestern University, Thomas W. Miller covers usability testing, Web site performance, usage analysis, social media platforms, search engine optimization (SEO), and many other topics. He balances this practical coverage with accessible and up-to-date introductions to both social network analysis and network science, demonstrating how these disciplines can be used to solve real business problems.

To succeed with predictive analytics, you must understand it on three levels: Strategy and management Methods and models Technology and code This up-to-the-minute reference thoroughly covers all three categories. Now fully updated, this uniquely accessible book will help you use predictive analytics to solve real business problems and drive real competitive advantage. If you’re new to the discipline, it will give you the strong foundation you need to get accurate, actionable results. If you’re already a modeler, programmer, or manager, it will teach you crucial skills you don’t yet have. Unlike competitive books, this guide illuminates the discipline through realistic vignettes and intuitive data visualizations–not complex math. Thomas W. Miller, leader of Northwestern University’s pioneering program in predictive analytics, guides you through defining problems, identifying data, crafting and optimizing models, writing effective R code, interpreting results, and more. Every chapter focuses on one of today’s key applications for predictive analytics, delivering skills and knowledge to put models to work–and maximize their value. Reflecting extensive student and instructor feedback, this edition adds five classroom-tested case studies, updates all code for new versions of R, explains code behavior more clearly and completely, and covers modern data science methods even more effectively. All data sets, extensive R code, and additional examples available for download at http://www.ftpress.com/miller If you want to make the most of predictive analytics, data science, and big data, this is the book for you. Thomas W. Miller’s unique balanced approach combines business context and quantitative tools, appealing to managers, analysts, programmers, and students alike. Miller addresses multiple business cases and challenges, including segmentation, brand positioning, product choice modeling, pricing research, finance, sports, text analytics, sentiment analysis, and social network analysis. He illuminates the use of cross-sectional data, time series, spatial, and spatio-temporal data. You’ll learn why each problem matters, what data are relevant, and how to explore the data you’ve identified. Miller guides you through conceptually modeling each data set with words and figures; and then modeling it again with realistic R programs that deliver actionable insights. You’ll walk through model construction, explanatory variable subset selection, and validation, mastering best practices for improving out-of-sample predictive performance. Throughout, Miller employs data visualization and statistical graphics to help you explore data, present models, and evaluate performance. This edition adds five new case studies, updates all code for the newest versions of R, adds more commenting to clarify how the code works, and offers a more detailed and up-to-date primer on data science methods. Gain powerful, actionable, profitable insights about: Advertising and promotion Consumer preference and choice Market baskets and related purchases Economic forecasting Operations management Unstructured text and language Customer sentiment Brand and price Sports team performance And much more

Data mining, an interdisciplinary field combining methods from artificial intelligence, machine learning, statistics and database systems, has grown tremendously over the last 20 years and produced core results for applications like business intelligence, spatio-temporal data analysis, bioinformatics, and stream data processing. The fifteen contributors to this volume are successful and well-known data mining scientists and professionals. Although by no means an exhaustive list, all of them have helped the field to gain the reputation and importance it enjoys today, through the many valuable contributions they have made. Mohamed Medhat Gaber has asked them (and many others) to write down their journeys through the data mining field, trying to answer the following questions: 1. What are your motives for conducting research in the data mining field? 2. Describe the milestones of your research in this field. 3. What are your notable success stories? 4. How did you learn from your failures? 5. Have you encountered unexpected results? 6. What are the current research issues and challenges in your area? 7. Describe your research tools and techniques. 8. How would you advise a young researcher to make an impact? 9. What do you predict for the next two years in your area? 10. What are your expectations in the long term? In order to maintain the informal character of their contributions, they were given complete freedom as to how to organize their answers. This narrative presentation style provides PhD students and novices who are eager to find their way to successful research in data mining with valuable insights into career planning. In addition, everyone else interested in the history of computer science may be surprised about the stunning successes and possible failures computer science careers (still) have to offer.

Data Science gets thrown around in the press like it'smagic. Major retailers are predicting everything from when theircustomers are pregnant to when they want a new pair of ChuckTaylors. It's a brave new world where seemingly meaningless datacan be transformed into valuable insight to drive smart businessdecisions. But how does one exactly do data science? Do you have to hireone of these priests of the dark arts, the "data scientist," toextract this gold from your data? Nope. Data science is little more than using straight-forward steps toprocess raw data into actionable insight. And in DataSmart, author and data scientist John Foreman will show you howthat's done within the familiar environment of aspreadsheet. Why a spreadsheet? It's comfortable! You get to look at the dataevery step of the way, building confidence as you learn the tricksof the trade. Plus, spreadsheets are a vendor-neutral place tolearn data science without the hype. But don't let the Excel sheets fool you. This is a book forthose serious about learning the analytic techniques, the math andthe magic, behind big data. Each chapter will cover a different technique in aspreadsheet so you can follow along: Mathematical optimization, including non-linear programming andgenetic algorithms Clustering via k-means, spherical k-means, and graphmodularity Data mining in graphs, such as outlier detection Supervised AI through logistic regression, ensemble models, andbag-of-words models Forecasting, seasonal adjustments, and prediction intervalsthrough monte carlo simulation Moving from spreadsheets into the R programming language You get your hands dirty as you work alongside John through eachtechnique. But never fear, the topics are readily applicable andthe author laces humor throughout. You'll even learnwhat a dead squirrel has to do with optimization modeling, whichyou no doubt are dying to know.

Don't let a fear of numbers hold you back. Today's business environment brings with it an onslaught of data. Now more than ever, managers must know how to tease insight from data--to understand where the numbers come from, make sense of them, and use them to inform tough decisions. How do you get started? Whether you're working with data experts or running your own tests, you'll find answers in the HBR Guide to Data Analytics Basics for Managers. This book describes three key steps in the data analysis process, so you can get the information you need, study the data, and communicate your findings to others. You'll learn how to: Identify the metrics you need to measure Run experiments and A/B tests Ask the right questions of your data experts Understand statistical terms and concepts Create effective charts and visualizations Avoid common mistakes